Fuente de Cantos to Zafra

Yet another gorgeous day weatherwise. Most of the walk was through farmland...lots more olive trees and today's new feature...vineyards. I love how the olive trees are spaced so that from a distance, they look like polka dots. From afar, it seemed that some of the olive trees were growing in red soil and some in what appeared to be an ashy white soil. I couldn´t quite work out how the soil would be two different colors so close together. As I got closer I could see that the white "soil" is really a ground cover of tiny daisy-like wild flowers. I arrived in Zafra in fairly good time and checked into the albergue which is very pretty...another converted convent. There is pretty cloister area for lounging. Most exciting of all was the brand new washer and dryer and after showering I immediately threw in a load of wash and feel so happy to have really clean clothes (as opposed to the semi-clean hand washed clothes that I usually have). It was also a treat not to have to do the hand washing which I pretty much hate. Zafra is a much bigger town than the others that I've passed through and it has some incredibly beautiful town squares and pedestrian streets.
I know that around the world there is a big economic downturn but in Spain, "la crisis" is particularly bad. The unemployment rate is something like 23% which is the highest in the industrialized world. EVERYONE I meet speaks of "la crisis" and I feel for Spain. Yet, if I did not know of "la crisis" I would have no reason to believe that it existed. The shops are full of shoppers, the cafés are full of people, the bars are full of people. It is the social Spain that I know and love and although I'm sure people are suffering, it sure doesn't show. It is very lively and seems to go on as always.
I´m holding up okay. Half of the walking today was on tightly packed dirt roads which are very comfortable to walk on. The other half was on similar roads but with gravel and/or rocks which feels very uncomfortable as it seems I can feel each jagged rock through the soles of my trusty boots. I also have three blisters which confounds me greatly. On the previous walks I only got one or two blisters and only when I walked something like 24 miles in a day. I am tending to them and hope they go away soon. I'm also hoping I'll lose some weight which would make the walking a bit easier but as I'm eating ham and chocolate hand over fist, I'm not sure that's going to happen.
Happy Birthday Dad. Sorry the phone call was so full of static. Have fun.